Minn.: Democrat Wellstone Defeats Boschwitz

This year's Senate contest was not so much a new race as a
continuation of the one from 1990, which resulted in Wellstone's upset win over then-Republican incumbent Boschwitz.

Seeking to turn the tables in his rematch with Wellstone,
Boschwitz came back with a much more focused and disciplined
campaign. And he used the same kind of ammunition -- the
incumbent's Senate record -- that his opponent used to oust him
in 1990.

Wellstone eked out a 2 percentage-point victory that year
over Boschwitz, who was the only incumbent senator in either
party to lose a bid for re-election that year. With more than
two weeks to go until Election Day, this year's rematch appeared
as if it could be as close as the 1990 contest.

Minnesota's airwaves were deluged with
charges and counter-charges being hurled not only by the two
campaigns, but also by the National Republican Senatorial
Committee, which hammered Wellstone for months.

Boschwitz and the NRSC accused Wellstone of being an "ultra-liberal" and "embarrassingly liberal." Boschwitz claimed his opponent is a relic of the 1960s. He blasted Wellstone on a wide range of issues, most notably the incumbent's vote against the welfare-reform legislation signed into law in August.

Boschwitz claimed Wellstone has been soft on crime for voting
against mandatory sentences for criminals. He has also
characterized Wellstone as a typical tax-and-spend Democrat who
backed several tax increases in his first term, including an
increase on certain Social Security benefits for wealthy
retirees and a 4.3-cents-per-gallon increase in fuel taxes.

Wellstone found plenty of fodder in Boschwitz's own Senate record. The Democrat fashions himself as
a champion of working families and said Boschwitz is on the side
of the "powerful special interests."

In particular, he slammed Boschwitz in a television ad
for voting against an increase in the minimum wage, while
supporting a pay raise for senators. At the same time, Wellstone
touted his efforts to pass legislation to increase the minimum
wage and his 1991 vote against a Senate pay raise. "Paul
Wellstone: He stands up for what's right," was the tag line on
one Wellstone ad.

He has also attacked Boschwitz for opposing funding for
"educational opportunities" and taking contributions from
tobacco interests.

Some Democrats reportedly expressed concern that the
double-barreled attacks being lodged at Wellstone were not being
adequately answered. A few weeks ago, Wellstone switched media
consultants and hired Mandy Grunwald, a former political adviser
to President Clinton. But some of the Democrats' concerns were allayed by a poll, released Oct. 15 by the Minneapolis
Star Tribune and WCCO-TV, that showed Wellstone leading
Boschwitz by 47 percent to 38 percent.

One factor in Wellstone's favor was the
presence of Reform Party candidate Dean M. Barkley, who took 5
percent as an independent candidate in the 1994 Senate race won
by Republican Rod Grams. Barkley appeared to be pulling more
votes from Boschwitz than Wellstone, according to Steven Schier,
a political scientist at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn.
"In a close race, his support will matter," Schier said.